Geva's 2017 Fielding Studio Series Concludes with SEX WITH STRANGERS

Geva Theatre Center's 2017 Fielding Studio Series concludes with Sex with Strangers by Laura Eason. This production comes to Geva from Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca, NY with the original cast and design team and is directed by Rachel Lampert. The production begins performances on April 13 and runs in the Fielding Stage through April 30.

A raging snowstorm traps Olivia, a frustrated 39-year-old novelist, in a secluded cabin with Ethan, a tech- savvy, successful and attractive twenty-something blogger who has gained fame writing about his many one-night stands. Undeniable chemistry ignites into a night of passion between these two opposites and what could have just been a one-night-stand transforms into something more complicated. Online exploits interfere with real-life connection in this smart, funny and sensual drama, proving that you can't judge book by its author.

Laura Eason is among the most produced living playwrights in the United States. Ms. Eason is the author of 20 plays, original works, and adaptations as well as being a musical book writer and screenwriter. Selected productions include The Undeniable Sound of Right Now, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Around the World in 80 Days. As a screenwriter, Ms. Eason wrote on seasons two and three of the Emmy-winning Netflix show "House Of Cards." She is a member of Rising Phoenix Rep, an Affiliated Artist of New Georges and an alumna of the Women's Project Playwright's Lab. She is an active ensemble member and former Artistic Director of Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago, recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Ms. Eason is a graduate of the Performance Studies Department of Northwestern University. Originally from Chicago, she lives in Brooklyn, NY. Sex with Strangers premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2011 was one of the top ten most produced plays in the 2015-2016 American regional theatre season.

Darian Dauchan (Ethan) makes his Geva Theatre Center debut in Sex with Strangers. He is an award-winning solo performer, actor, poet, writer, and musician who has appeared on both Broadway (Twentieth Century starring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche) and Off-Broadway theatre (Jean Cocteau Rep., Classical Theatre of Harlem). TV and film credits include "Law & Order," Nickelodeon's "Bet the House," as Darian the "SoundFX" Guy, and the Lionsgate feature film Things Never Said. His solo shows include Fallen Patriots (NYC Fringe); Texaco's Last Stand (Ohio Theatre/ IGNITE Festival); Media Madness (Kitchen Theatre Company); Entertainer's Eulogy which had limited engagements at Memphis' Playhouse on the Square, Kitchen Theatre Company, LA's Whitefire Solo Theatre Festival and Theatre ROW (United Solo Festival); Voice Power (Arts for All's Audience Project Tour) and Obamatry: A Spoken Word Remix on the 44th President of the United States of America (Under St. Marks Theater, SPKRBOX Festival, Norway) originally presented by Horse Trade Theater Group in conjunction with the Bowery Arts and Science. Black Sheep, his fifth solo show, was commissioned by the Kitchen Theatre Company and placed third for Best Play at the 2015 Downtown Urban Theater Festival.

LeeAnne Hutchison (Olivia) also makes her Geva Theatre Center debut in Sex with Strangers. Off-Broadway credits include the premiere of Septimus and Clarissa; the premiere of Sam's Romance/Rose and Alas, the Nymphs at BAM. Regional credits include August: Osage County for Arkansas Rep; Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire at West Virginia Public Theater; Clybourne Park at Arkansas Rep; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune for Shaker Bridge Theatre, NH; Don Juan at the McCarter Theater; The Underpants at White Heron Theatre, Nantucket; A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Hamptons' Shakespeare Festival; AR Gurney's Family Furniture at the White Heron Theatre; the premiere of American Stare at NJ Rep and Psyche directed by Ralph Lee. Off-Off Broadway credits include Ibsen's Ghosts; Stoppard's Dogg's Hamlet; Cahoot's Macbeth at the Phoenix Ensemble; Orpheus for HERE; Innocents at RipeTime Theater; the world premiere of The Third Policeman at LaMaMa; The Odyssey Project; Our Country's Good for Culture Project; The Recruiting Officer at NY Classical Theatre; the premiere of Full Bloom by Suzanne Bradbeer; Body Sketch for NYTW; I Want What You Have for The Women's Project and Death in Vacant Lot! for South Wing Theatre Co. Feature Films include One Fall directed by Marcus Dean Fuller and Brewsie & Willie (RoCAM Productions).

Sex with Strangers is directed by the Artistic Director of The Kitchen Theatre Company, Rachel Lampert. The creative team includes David L. Arsenault (Scenic Design), Lisa Boquist (Costume Design), Tyler M. Perry (Lighting Design) and Serge Levitskiy (Sound Design).

Sex with Strangers by Laura Eason marks the fourth production originating at Kitchen Theatre Company to be seen by Geva Theatre Center audiences. Previous productions include Dancing Lessons by Mark St. Germain (2016), A Body of Water by Lee Blessing (2015) and Black Pearl Sings! by Frank Higgins (2014).

Photo by Dave Burbank